Restaurants and Dining
General On the ship they have rotational dining, this means that you will eat in a different one of the three main restaurants every night, repeating the sequence through the cruise. This does not mean the menu stays the same though. It is very rare that you will see the same menu twice during your cruise. For three of the nights you will have the standard menu for the restaurant you are in as you rotate through each one. The other nights there will be special themed menus such as Pirate Night, the Captain's Gala, Til We Meet Again, etc. The themes vary depending on what cruise you are on. At any meal, in any restaurant if a dish is not entirely to your liking when ordering you can within reason ask for changes to be made. In general omissions are fairly easy (except when in an ingredient in a sauce for instance). A substitution is often not a problem if it is with something that is part of another dish on the menu. So for example if the menu had Steak with Chips and Chicken with Mash you shuld have no problem getting Steak with Mash. Due to the way that dishes are prepared it may on some occasions mean that they will simply serve you both dishes. You can also have anything on the Kid's Menu if you prefer it. Just ask your Server for a copy of the menu. The three main restaurants are Cabanas, Animator's Palate and Lumieres, each offering a different ambience and different cuisine type for their standard menu. When you check in you will see a code made up of the letters C, L and A. This shows which restaurant you will be eating in each night (C=Cariocas, L=Lumiere's and A=Animator's Palate). There will also be a number which is your table number which will be the same in all three restaurants. There is no assigned seating for breakfast or lunch. On the last day though you will be assigned to the same restaurant you had your last dinner in for breakfast in either an early or late seating to match your dinner seating. You can go to the buffet if you prefer though. Your servers stay with you as you move through each restaurant so they will get to know you (and your likes and disikes) through the cruise. This means they will do things like learn your drinks preferences, so don't be surprised after a day or two to see a drink you regularly order already on the table when you come to dinner. The exception is that you will not see them at the Cabanas or Palo. Dress codes are generally not strictly enforced but in the main dining rooms it is the accepted, recommended norm that you wear collared shirts, chino type trousers or slacks and definately shoes and socks. Dresses, blouses and skirts are also appropriate for ladies. Some people always wear neat jeans. Swimwear, shorts, flip flops and the like are discouraged. Palo is more upscale and does enforce a minimum standard button up shirt and slacks (or blouse and skirt / dress). One night of the cruise is normally dress up night, typically themed round Pirate sof the Caribbean. In the Baltics this is more likely to be a Frozen theme. The mini cereal boxes at breakfast make for good snacks during the day, particularly on port days. Stock up on a few at breakfast time. Breakfast venues * Lumiere's (Full service, normally 07:00-09:30 on port days and 08:00-09:30 on at sea days) * Cariocas (buffet, usually 08:30-10:30, not every day, check Navigator for details) * Cabanas (buffet, opening varies, not every day, check Navigator for details) * Palo (Buffet / Full service, brunch usually between 10:00-14:00, sea days only, check Navigator for details) Lunch venues * Lumiere's (Full service, normally 12:00-13:30 on port days and 11:30-13:30 on at sea days) * Cariocas (buffet, opening varies, not every day, check Navigator for details) * Cabanas (buffet, opening varies, not every day, check Navigator for details) Dinner venues * Lumiere's (Rotational Dining, first seating 17:30-18:00, we have second seating 20:00-20:30) * Animator's Palate (Rotational Dining, first seating 17:30-18:00, we have second seating 20:00-20:30) * Cariocas (Rotational Dining, first seating 17:30-18:00, we have second seating 20:00-20:30) * Palo (Full service, reservations between 18:00 and 21:00) * Cabanas (Full service, opening varies, not every day, check Navigator for details) Snack venues These are all on Deck 9. * Daisy's De-lites (usually 11:00-19:00, check Navigator for details) * Pete's Boiler Bites (Usually 11:00-22:00, check Navigator for details) * Pinocchio's Pizzeria (Usually 10:45-18:00, also 21:00-0:00 on some days, check Navigator for details) * Eye Scream (buffet, opening varies, not every day, check Navigator for details) * Fro-Zone (counter service, opening varies, not every day, check Navigator for details) * Beverage Station (24 hours) Lumiere's Lumiere's is named for the candlestick in Beauty and the Beas''t and like the film has a French theme, though like most things on the cruise has a decidedly American sensibility. You will see a Beauty and the Beast mural and subtle thematic touches such as the rose symbol throughout the restaurant. The restaurant offers breakfast, lunch and dinner all as full services meals. Rotational Dining dinner has a French flavour, the other two meals are rather more traditionally American. It should be noted that breakfast and lunch can be rather more sedate affairs than many people would like when they have a busy day ahead. On occasion a late night dessert buffet is held here, though if there is one it is more usually on deck and moves here in incement weather. Animator's Palate The rotational dining cuisine in Animator's Palate is Pacific Rim inspired for your rotational dining, and includes Californian, Asian and Pacific Island influences. The decor of the restaurant evokes hand drawn animation with pencil sketch drawings of DIsney characters on the walls and decorative touches, like pencils, maquettes and paint brushes. The real draw of the restaurant though is the show... Cariocas Carioca's is named for José Carioca, one of the Donald Duck's buddies in the movie ''Three Caballeros. ''José Carioca is from Rio de Janiero, so unsurprisingly the themeing has a Brazilian leaning to it. The rotational dining menu has a Latin American vibe and leans towards seafood specialities. Breakfast and lunch, both in a buffet style, are often but not always served here, you will see hours listed in the Navigator. The buffet service is often identical to that in Cabanas, many people prefer it though as it has a table drinks service, is quieter and has a better ambience. Cabanas has a much better view though. On some lunch days the buffet has themes such as Asian, Italian, Seafood or American. On longer cruises, you may get an invite to a Character Breakfast at Cariocas. Breakfast is the same, but it comes with a mini "show" with popular Disney characters dancing and playing in the aisles. They tend to be fun, but are often loud. Cabanas Cabanas draws is design inspiration from the film ''Finding Nemo and has a relaxed Austrailian beach vibe going on. It is located on Deck 9 and as such offers the best views of any of the restaurants aside from Palo, it also has a large terrace which is nive to sit out in on warm days. Breakfast and lunch is buffet style, but unlike Cariocas which has a table drinks service, everything in Cabanas is self service. Breakfast is popular and can be busy, especially as it is normally a faster affair than in other restaurants which is good if you want to get on with the day. Lunch buffets often carry a thenme like Italian, Mexican, Asian or Seafood. It is also normally the place everyone heads to for lunch on embarkation day, though Cariocas is also open. When going to the buffet go in through the right hand door, there is more seating on that side and so the flow are generally better. Dinner is slightly different though with starters being buffet style but the rest of the meal is table service. The dinner menu will normally feature highlights from the menus being served in the other restaurants, alongside other Cabanas staples. On mornings where there are early starts it can often partially open before breakfast hours for a coffee and pastries service. Very occasionally a special late night dessert buffet is laid on, but this is rare. Dress is alike more casual here, especially at breakfast and lunch with shorts, flip flops and the like being perfectly accepable. Swimsuits are stilled frowned on though. Palo Palo is located on Deck 10 and is an adults only restaurant with a Northern Italian themed decor and menu. It is a premium restaurant so there is an extra charge of $25 (£17) per person. It is well worth every penny though as the food and service is outstanding. More recently, for about $60 (£40), an option has been added to have a wine flight to go with your meal which pairs a glass of an appropriately matching wine with every course you have. It is very popular so reservations slots go quickly as it has much fewer tables than the other restaurants. Reservations can be made 90 days before sailing and need really to be made on the first day they become available if you want to get one. Palo also offers a stunningly good brunch on sea days, also charged at $25. Also popular, slots go quickly so needs prompt reservation. One of the dleights of the restaurant, aside from the fabulous view is the open kitchen where you can watch the chefs busy at work making your dinner. Prebooking allows for a maximum of one dinner and one brunch reservation each, but we enjoy it very much, so as soon as we get on board we tend to hurtle to Palo to see if there have been any cancellations or get on the waiting list to try and get a second dinner and second brunch. We usually try and make our first dinner reservation for Formal night and the second if we get one one either the Pirates (or alternative) dress up night or the Cariocas night. Cariocas because when it was Parrot Cay we felt it had the weakest rotational dining menu and the restaurant was loud and garish. With the make over it has recieved and the new menu, this may require reconsideration. Note though that if you make a reservation and don't turn up you will be charged anyway. In keeping with its more upscale nature a minimum dress level of shirts and slacks is required and enforced. Even smart jeans are not allowed. We have seen people turned away and I was previously sent to change when I had on jeans. Cove Café Located on Deck 9, this is an adults only coffee shop offerring a selection of gourmet coffees, speciality teas and a small selection of alcoholic drinks. The drinks all incur a charge, but the cafe also offers complimentary snacks, pastries in the morning, olives, cheeses and cold meats during the day and little cakes at tea time and late evening. Snacks Daisy's De-lites This location usually offers salads, sandwiches, wraps, panini's, fruit and cookies. At breakfast time you will find pastries, cereals, fruit and yoghurt. Pete's Boiler Bites A selection of burgers and hot dogs are avaiablee here, though also at times you will find have chicken or fish burgers, tacos and chicken tenders. Everything is served with fries and there is a toppings bar with lettuce, tomato, onion and the like along with suaces like ketchup and mustard. Pinocchio's Pizzeria It does what it says at the tin and offers a slection of pizzas, usuallly cheese or pepperoni, though vegetarian and Hawaii also make an appearance. There is usually also a special pizza of the day. You get it by the slice so you don't have to worry about spoiling your meals by having to get through a whole pizza. Eye Scream This is a soft serve ice cream station with vanilla and chocolate ice cream (and sometimes guest flavours). There will also be toppings like chocolate sauce and sprinkles. It is periodically open later than the other snack locations for a late sweet treat. Fro-Zone Treats Named for one of the characters in The Incredibles serves up fruit smoothies and milkshakes. These do incur a charge though. Beverage station The station offers a range of soft drinks, currently Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite, Minute Maid Lemonade, Pomegranate Lemonade and Iced Tea. On the hot side you can get a small range of teas, coffee and hot chocolate. Milk is also available. You may also find orange juice some days at breakfast time, but it is easy to just take a few steps to Cabanas for a small range of fruit juices at breakfast time. Room Service Room service breakfast is available between 07:00 and 10:00 and is continental only, including breads, pastries, cereals, yoghurt and fruit. Tea, coffee and juice can also be ordered. If you want anything hot the easiest thing to do is to nip up to Cabanas, the buffet on Deck 9. Note that on the last morning room service is not available but you can nip up to the buffet at Cabanas and get a tray of goodies. The regular room service menu is available at any time of the day or night, except during breakfast hours. The service ends at 01:30 on the last morning of your cruise. The menu is not wildly inventive and there is very limited scope for adjustment, that said if you want a change that uses components of other items on the menu it may be possible to have. Most items on the room service menu are free. Snacks such as popcorn, sweeties and nuts are charged as are all drinks including all alcoholic and non-alcoholic options (though basics like tea, coffee and milk are not). Tips are not included and should be $1-$2 per delivery. Generally most orders arrive in 20 to 30 minutes, though you can also specify a particular time for delivery if you are ordering in advance. Although they are not on the menu Mickey Bars are usually available from room service. Mickey Bars are like Magnum ice creams in the shape of MIckey's head. Your stateroom host can also bring ice to your stateroom. If you can't track them down call Room Service or Guest Services. Drinks All of the drinks you normally find at the Deck 9 beverage station are also free in the restaurants. All others are charged including alcohol, alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktail and bottled water. The menu each night will feature a themed cocktail alongside the standard drinks menu. The charging is also true at the Sail Away Celebration where you will see staff circulating with trays of cocktails. Although they might seem to be these are not free, if you take one, you will be charged for it. As a rough guide drinks cost: Each day you will see a drink of the day noted in your Navigator which will normally be at a reduced price (around $5) and the bars will periodically do 2 for 1 deals. You can buy a beer mug at most of the lounges for $17 (£11) and for the rest of the trip you will get a 22oz (650ml) beer for the price of a 16oz (475ml) beer. You also get to keep the glass as a souvenier. The other good news is that while you on board the ship you don't need to carry the glass around, when you finish your beer just hand it in at the bar and you will get a beer token that you can turn in for you next beer mug beer. Beers listed in the table above are representative and may change from cruise to cruise. You will not find all of the beers in every bar, diferent bars have different line ups. You are allowed to bring your own drinks, including alcoholic, onboard. They must be in your carry on bag and they must be unopened. When you debark you will only be able take off unopened bottles, anything already opened will have to be left behind. If you want to bring your own wine to dinner with you it will cost you $23.00 (£15) ($20 corkage fee plus 15% tip). You are llowed to bring a glass of your own wine to dinner. There is a a duty free shop onboard (Sea Treasures) in which you can buy alcohol. It cannot be consumed on board though and will be kept safely for you and only given to you on the last night of the cruise. There is a reasonable selection of wines by the bottle on the ship, and Palo particularly has a fairly comprehensive wine list. There is also a selection of wines by the glass. There are prepay wine packages which can save you up to 25% of the cost, which can be good value if you like the wines on the list. You don't need to pre select your wines choices can be made when you want the wine served. If you have a bottle of wine at dinner and do not finish it, don't worry. Just as your servers move with you from restaurant to restaurant, so does your wine (until it is finished). Your servers will make sure it is properly corked and looked after. The house champagne (sparkling wine) is created specially for Disney by Iron Horse Vineyard called Fairy Tale Cuvée.